| Housing Crisis Gets Personal |
| Articles - Mortgage |
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If you're reading this, the housing crisis has gotten your attention. In fact, it's likely that the crisis has become "personal" for you.
If you're reading this, the housing crisis has gotten your attention. In fact, it's likely that the crisis has become "personal" for you. Over 200,000 Notices of Default went out last month. If you are one of the recipients then you are likely dealing with some pretty strong emotions now. These emotions can propel you into action or paralize you. This predicament is not for lighweights. It's for tough people who are ready to take action to protect themselves and do what is right. This has not happened before. Never has so much wealth just evaporated as in this housing market implosion. And, it became a global problem thanks to our global financial markets. Approximately 15 million Americans purchased homes at the height of the housing bubble and an estimated three million of those in CA. Today they are "Ground Zero" in the housing crisis. More than 8 million homes will likely go into foreclosure between 2009 and 2012. It's bad right now, but the worst is yet to come. Far more numerous than the sub-prime loans that started the declinethousands of Alt-A Option Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) are resetting to higher payments. Some $2.5 Trillion of these "slightly-less-than-prime" loans were made during the housing market run-up and it is now estimated that more than 50% of these will fail and require some type of remedy, like a modification or short sale to adjust to new housing market realities. This"Third Wave" of foreclosures is on our shores now. And, the modification initiative, part of the President's Making Homes Affordable Program, is only a stop-gap measure, meant to stem the rising tide of foreclosures. It does nothing to address the actual problem of lost value. That pricey problem is still "out there". Recently announced efforts to offer principal reductions - announcements from banks, government and private "hard-money" lenders - are still theoretical. Nationwide the numbers are bad - nearly 20% of homeowners are underwater on their home mortgages. And, although that sound terrible, the problem is many times worse in states like CA, NV, AZ, FL and MI where rates exceed 50% in many metro areas. This bubble-deflating work will take us many years to work through. The numbers are sobering. But, that's all just data to most people. For most people it is a very personal matter. Tens of millions of Americans are dealing with a personal financial disaster. Whether it's you or a loved one, this housing crisis is a very personal struggle for financial survival. To deal with it we have to learn new things. We have to learn about default, foreclosure, bankruptcy, recourse, deficiency judgements, oh my! Many organization are offering serious help for homeowners. But, it's still up to you. Up to you to shake off the shock of it all and swing into action. You need street-smart advice, not flowery fluff or the same old line. DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice. Rockwood is known as "The Loan Mod Mercenary", helping thousands to negotiate mods.Visit Rockwood's site about DIY Loan Modification at Home Loan Modification Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service |